EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – A Houston-based drug kingpin has been brought to justice after a five-year investigation and prosecution spanning several states.
Samuel Ruben Caraway, 46, was sentenced to 360 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy that resulted in the seizure of $1.2 million dollars in cash, $72,000 in jewelry, and several kilos of cocaine.
The ringleader of the Houston-based cocaine trafficking operation was captured in Texas in July 2021, after being a fugitive for more than three and a half years.
An indictment filed on January 4, 2018, charged that Caraway was the leader of a Houston-based group responsible for distributing more than $4 million dollars’ worth of cocaine throughout Texas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Georgia.
All eight co-defendants previously pleaded guilty, and Caraway was the last member of the group to be sentenced. Each of his co-defendants also received significant prison sentences – Victor Johnson (188 months), Sammy Monroe (168 months), Rodney Smith (147 months), Dana Bell (87 months), Nahum Shibeshi (48 months), Astin Allison (151 months), Terrance Miles (121 months), and Jamie Green (262 months) – after it was determined that they were responsible for trafficking approximately 120 kilos of cocaine into Southern Illinois.
The investigation was conducted as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF initiative brings federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and resources together to identify, target, and dismantle large national and international drug trafficking organizations.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Steven D. Weinhoeft and David D. Dean. Caraway’s sentencing brings to a successful close an investigation and prosecution that spanned several states and more than five years.
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Key Facts
- State: Illinois
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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